Matthew Mole Wins Best Pop At SAMA26

Under the theme #ForThaKultcha, the adrenaline filled yet bite-size 30 minute episode announced the winner of Best Pop Album on Wednesday night. Multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Matthew Mole won Best Pop with his third album, ‘Ghost’.

“The South African Music Scene is an amazing thing and it’s evolving so quickly with so many insanely talented acts coming out of nowhere. Just to be acknowledged among so many incredible names at the SAMAs is a dream. Big shoutout to Brendyn “Rusti” Rossouw, Josh Klynsmith, Danny Monk & Robbie Spooner for all the time spent in studio putting this thing together! Massive congrats to everyone nominated!”Ghost contains Matthew’s typical eclectic blend of folk, electronica undertones and positive vibes.

“While the new album contains the usual traits,” says Matthew, “I have experimented with electronics a lot more and I’ve introduced a bit of a ‘bigger’ sound in terms of instrumentation.”

The inspiration behind the album, he says, is overcoming all sorts of difficulties. It is also what inspired the album’s title. A quirky addition is that the ghost that graces the cover has a name – and his own Instagram account! “While he is cute,” explains Matthew, “Olly, which is short for Oleander, represents fear.”And that is exactly what Ghost is all about. “The songs on this album represent fighting difficult situations in life. A lot of the difficulty comes down to fear or insecurity. The ghost represents those insecurities,” he explains. “It is something that intimidates us when we feel most vulnerable, but which ultimately has no power over us because we know that things will get better.”

While he has been in the industry for seven years, Matthew still considers his career as being in its infancy. And as for career highlights? “There are so many that I am grateful for. But every time I play a show and hear people singing along, it gets added to my list of highlights!”

Ultimately, Matthew only has one goal. “I want there to be a strong message of hope in the music that I write. I want someone to hear a song, be intrigued about what I’m saying, and ultimately feel more hopeful than they did before they heard it.”